APPLETON, Wis. -- The University of Southern Maine Huskies baseball team's magical run through the elimination bracket came up short Monday afternoon as the Emory University Eagles banged out 16 hits to take a 15-3 victory in Game 12 of the 2014 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Tournament at Fox Cities Stadium.

The loss eliminated the Huskies from the eight-team, double-elimination tournament with a 2-2 mark (fourth place), and ended their season with a 37-15 record. The Huskies dropped their opening game of the tournament to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday before beating Salisbury (Md.) University and Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) in elimination games.

Emory (37-12) advances to a second elimination game later today against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.). The winner of that game advances to Tuesday's championship round against UW-Whitewater needing two wins over the Warhawks to claim the national title.

Sophomore Paul Merolla (Wilton, Conn.) was the beneficiary of the Eagles' 16-hit attack. The seven-foot right-hander pitched a complete game allowing three runs on nine hits and one walk. He did not strike out a batter, and had two double plays turned behind him. The win was the fourth of the season for Merolla against one loss.

Senior Jared Kahn (Atlanta, Ga.) was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle going 3 for 4 with four RBI to lead the Eagles' offense. Junior Wes Peacock (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) went 3 for 6 with a home run and four runs scored. Rookie Phil Maldari (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had a double, single and drove in four runs.

Senior Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) went 3 for 4, and freshman Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine) had a pair of singles for the Huskies. Sophomore starter Shyler Scates (Jefferson, Maine/Erskine Academy), the first of eight USM hurlers used in the game, was tagged with the loss.

The Eagles jumped on Scates in the opening frame for four runs. Three straight singles produced the first run. After a sacrifice bunt move the runners to second and third, Kahn lashed a double off the glove of the diving USM infielder to bring in both runners. After USM made a pitching change, Kahn stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly from senior Jared Welch (Alpharetta, Ga.).

Southern Maine cut the deficit in half in the third inning. With no outs and the bases loaded, senior Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) was hit by a pitch to force a run across. A big play for Emory occurred when the next batter, senior Matt Verrier (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills), lashed a line drive was caught by Kahn for an unassisted double play. The Huskies would get another run on Bernard's single, but the possible big inning did not materialize as Merolla escaped further damage getting a fielder's choice.

Peacock hit a solo home run in the fifth off USM junior reliever Alex Tobey (South Berwick, Maine/Berwick Academy). That would be the only run Tobey would give up in fourth innings of solid relief work.

The Eagles tacked on an unearned run in the sixth inning, and blew the game open with five markers in the seventh. Kahn picked up an RBI when he walked with the bases loaded, and Maldari drove in two with his double during the seventh-inning outburst.

Emory added a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings while the Huskies scored a lone run in the eighth. The Huskies' run came when Chadwick, in his final career at bat, doubled into the right field corner. Chadwick was replaced by sophomore pinch runner Nick DiBiase (Portland, Maine/Deering) who scored when Bernard singled to right.

With one out in the ninth, USM head coach Ed Flaherty went to the mound and in a tribute to the five seniors who were on the field - Verrier, Bernard, 1B John Carey (South Portland, Maine), 3B Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass./New Hampton) and LHP Logan Carman (Newfields, N.H./Exeter) - substituted for them to a well-deserved acknowledgement from the USM fans. The last of USM's seven seniors, RHP Nathan Veilleux (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonskee), came on for Carman to get the final two outs.

USM’s baseball season ends in 15-3 loss to EmoryThe Huskies finish fourth in the Division III national tournament.By Mike Lowe

APPLETON, Wis. — Such is the game of baseball that a team can lose by 12 runs, but still point to a play in the early innings of the game as the difference. The University of Southern Maine was eliminated from the NCAA Division III national baseball championship tournament Monday afternoon by Emory University, the Huskies’ season crashing down in a 15-3 loss at Fox Cities Stadium. USM finished fourth in the tournament...

NCAA baseball notebook: Southern Maine seniors get their moment of recognitionFive of the Huskies seniors taken out of game in the ninth get a round of applause from USM fans.By Mike Lowe

APPLETON, Wis. — The game was over. Not officially, but realistically. And as Ed Flaherty, the head baseball coach at the University of Southern Maine looked out onto the field at Fox Cities Stadium, he wanted to somehow honor the five seniors still out there. So with one out in the top of the ninth inning and a runner on, Flaherty called time, walked out to the pitching mound and took them all out: pitcher Logan Carman (who was replaced by senior Nathan Veilleux), right fielder Chris Bernard, first baseman John Carey, catcher Matt Verrier and third baseman Troy Thibodeau...

USM baseball filled with promise for next seasonThe Huskies must replace offense but have strong pitching to build around.By Mike Lowe

APPLETON, Wis. — It’s never easy to see a season end. Andrew Richards, the stellar relief pitcher for the University of Southern Maine, still wore his disappointment hours after the Huskies were knocked out of the NCAA Division III national championships Monday. USM finished fourth in the tournament. But, said Richards, being so close again – USM lost in the national championship game in 2013 – gives the Huskies reason to look forward to next year...

GORHAM, Maine -- University of Southern Maine senior Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) is among the NCAA Division III baseball student-athletes named Wednesday to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Baseball second team as selected by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

An American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) third team All-American (utility player), Bernard helped the Huskies finish fourth in the recently completed eight-team, double-elimination NCAA Division III Baseball Championship tournament in Appleton, Wisconsin. Bernard was also named to the All-Little East Conference and the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-New England first team as the designated hitter, and the D3baseball.com All-Region third team.

During the 2014 season, Bernard batted .320 (64 for 200) with a team-high 20 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 48 RBI. In addition to his time as the Huskies’ designated hitter or outfielder, Bernard also complied a 2-3 mark with a 6.07 ERA on the mound. He was selected the Little East Conference Player of the Week on April 14, and was picked for a spot on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week on April 16.

For his career at USM, Bernard had a .330 batting average (141 for 427) with 47 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 109 RBI. On the mound, he had a 7-4 W-L record with a 4.54 ERA.

To be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or important reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale, have reached sophomore standing academically and athletically at his/her present institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Bernard has a 3.32 cumulative grade point average majoring in communication.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America ® honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in four divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, and College division that included NAIA, two-year colleges, and Canadian colleges.

The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2013-14 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.

LAZARCZYK: Chadwick waits and waits some moreA solid player for University of Southern Maine from the start, Forrest Chadwick waits to see where baseball will take him, says Travis Lazarczyk.

BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK The Gardiner Area High School baseball was on the bus, driving to Bangor for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship game, when coach Jim Palmer finally told freshman Forrest Chadwick he’d be the starting pitcher against the tough Bangor Rams. “I didn’t tell him he was starting until...

Baseball: Former Oxford Hills and USM star Verrier catches on in Canada

by RANDY WHITEHOUSE: Matt Verrier arrived in Moncton, New Brunswick in early June and found a city on edge. Verrier was there to play some baseball, but the city of 65,000 was preoccupied with findng a man suspected of killing three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers "The shooter was on the loose. The whole city was on lockdown for two days," said Verrier, whose father, David, is the former police chief in Paris. "It was a little bit scary. It was a sad thing...

Dexter keeping busy during summerThe Messalonskee graduate is playing for the Sanford Mainers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK..Facing pitchers who routinely throw the baseball 90 miles per hour. Swinging nothing but an unforgiving wooden bat. That’s Sam Dexter’s summer. The Messalonskee High School graduate and shortstop at the University of Southern Maine is playing for the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, and he hopes the challenges he faces on the diamond this summer make him better when the Huskies play next spring...

Huskies’ Baseball to Host Holiday Clinic With Ryan Flaherty of the Baltimore Orioles

GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies’ baseball team and coaching staff will be hosting a Holiday Baseball Clinic on Sunday, December 28 for baseball players in grades 3-12. In addition to instruction from Huskies’ head coach Ed Flaherty and staff and the 2015 University of Southern Maine Huskies’ baseball team, the clinic will also feature instruction from Ryan Flaherty of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles.

Clinic participants will receive instruction in the fundamentals of hitting, pitching, infield and outfield position play. Ryan Flaherty, who will be actively teaching and working with clinic participants, will also be available to provide autographs and insight into what helped him reach the major league level.

The clinic will take place at the Costello Sports Complex Fieldhouse on the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus. Baseball players should wear appropriate attire, including sneakers and bring their own playing equipment. The fee for the clinic is $50. For more information contact the baseball office at (207) 780-5474.

One of the nation’s elite Division III program, the Huskies’ baseball team advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series in back-to-back seasons after winning the NCAA Division III New England Regional in 2013 and 2014. After finishing as national runners-up in 2013, USM finished fourth in 2014 with an overall record of 37-15. Coach Ed Flaherty will begin his 30th season at the helm of the Huskies. He has a career record of 879-394-4.